Heart of Gold
by lkcrm94
Summary: Loopy De Loop, being the good wolf he is, decides to watch over a priceless museum exhibit in case crooks try to steal it. And just as well, because someone indeed has plans to steal it that very night…
1. I

**Author's note: My first fanfic of 2013! If you're not familiar with this character, Loopy De Loop was a wolf who always strived to do good deeds. However, he lives in a world where wolves have a bad reputation, so people see Loopy as a troublemaker or a threat due to him being a wolf, while the other wolves consider him an embarrassment. In the cartoons, Loopy spoke with a French-Canadian accent; I've tried to show this here, but I'm not great at phonetically writing accents out, so sorry if I mangle his dialogue up.**

**Loopy De Loop © Hanna-Barbera. All other characters are mine (any resemblance to any real person(s) is entirely coincidental).**

* * *

A young woman sat down on the settee in her living room and stretched out. She had been busy all morning, but everything she'd had to do was now done. Now she had the rest of the day free to herself, and all she wanted to do was unwind. She smiled as she picked a book up from the coffee table and began to read from chapter ten. What a nice, relaxing way to spend the afternoon.

Unbeknownst to her, a large, fat, hairy spider was scuttling across the carpet. It eyed the woman and began heading towards her. The spider had decided to scare this human, and by golly was it going to give her the fright of her life. The spider readied its fangs and made a face to make itself look even more frightening. The spider crept up to the woman's feet and prodded one of them with its two front legs.

The woman felt something prodding her foot, and she lowered the book to see what it was. A huge spider was staring up at her, and it was grinning evilly.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!"

With that, the woman shot up into the air and ran, throwing her book aside. She skedaddled around the living room, not once taking her eyes off the spider. It wasn't like she could just chuck the spider our or swat it; all she could think to do was run away from it…or run around it. If she ran out the room, the spider was sure to follow her or hide elsewhere in the house and keep her in constant worry and dread. The spider chuckled, knowing it had done its job of scaring her. It watched the woman as she ran frantically around with her hands in the air.

"HELP! A SPIDER! EEEKKK!"

At that moment, Loopy De Loop, the good wolf, was walking past the house. He suddenly heard what sounded like screaming, and he stopped in his tracks to listen.

"A SPIDER! SOMEBODY _SAVE ME_!"

"Oh no, a lady ees een distress!" Loopy gasped. "I weel go and save her from her peril, for I am Loopy De Loop, ze helpful, courageous and charming wolf. Then, maybe people weel see zat not all wolves are bad," he said with a hopeful grin. He headed down the garden path towards the front door.

The woman heard a knock at the front door, and she rushed to answer it. She opened the door to find a large wolf standing there. The wolf had brown fur and was wearing a yellow hat and scarf, and it put its left paw behind its back and leaned forward as if bowing in a gentlemanly fashion.

"Ah, bonjour, arachnophobic-type madame! I happened to be passing by when I heard you call for help. There ees no need to worry, because I, Loopy De Loop, ze kind, generous, charming wolf, weel get rid of zee nasty creepy-crawly for you!"

The offer of help didn't seem to register for the woman at first. She just stood there as Loopy spoke to her. After he finished speaking, she finally responded.

"A WOLF! TRESSPASSING! EEEEEKKKK! HELP!"

Loopy put his paws up and grinned sheepishly. "Madame, I theenk you are mistaken een a way. I am indeed a wolf, but I am not trespassing. I am Loopy De Loop, ze good wolf, and I am here to help you, yes?"

"No!"

The woman reached for a broom that conveniently happened to be placed against the wall. She held the broom up above her and brought it down onto Loopy's head with a _thwack!_

"That that, you no-good wolf!"

_Thwack!_

"And that!"

_Thwack!_

"And that!"

The spider scuttled into the hallway, curious about what was happening. At the sight of the wolf, the spider screamed and grabbed onto the woman's leg for comfort.

Loopy was now lying on the ground, his eyes tightly shut as if expecting another hit, and his yellow hat flattened across the top of his head. He opened his eyes and quickly readjusted his hat. He could practically see the stars dancing around his head. Loopy shook his head and caught sight of the frightened spider before looking up at the woman, who was standing menacingly in front of him with the broom at the ready.

"But madame, the spider…" Loopy began.

"Forget the spider!" the woman interrupted. There was no point in trying to reason with her. "I'd take the spider any day! Look – you're scaring the poor creature. What did it ever do to _you_?"

Loopy cast a glum look to the spider. In return, the spider looked away and shivered. The woman held the broom up above her shoulders and swung it like a golf club. The broom made contact with Loopy's nose, sending him careering along the garden path and across the road.

"Now beat it! And don't ever come back!" the woman yelled as she watched the wolf slide away. She slammed the door shut.

* * *

Awhile later and Loopy was wandering through a park in the city, listening to the wildlife around him.

"Ah, listen to ze little birds tweeting to each other," Loopy said with a smile. "Eet ees a happy day for ze world, but eet ees a sad life for ze good wolf." His smile drooped. "I strive to do ze good deeds, but even when I offer to help people, zey run away from me because zey theenk I am not ze good wolf. Thees ees what my life conseests of." Loopy sighed to himself. "I need to prove zat not all wolves are bad, but nothing I try convinces people. What else can I do? I must theenk of something."

As he thought, he caught sight of the city museum through the park gates. The museum was a huge, extravagant building made of the finest sandstone and with a domed roof. There were many windows on the museum, all of them gleaming in the sunlight. Several people were walking up and down a flight of stone steps that led up to the main door.

Loopy's eyes lit up. "Ah, but of course! What better place to get eenspiration of ze good deeds than ze past achievements of man!"


	2. II

Loopy strolled to the museum and made his way up the steps to the door, which was surrounded by an arch made out of solid stone. Upon entry, he found himself in a fairly large room with pale-coloured walls and a spotless wooden floor. Some people were going in and out while a museum guard sat at a small desk to the left of the room. On the wall at the back of the room was a sign that pointed to a door and read "EXHIBITS THIS WAY". If that was where he had to go, he would. Loopy produced a few coins and placed them on the desk in front of the guard. He then proceeded to head further into the room and closer to the door. He could feel the eyes of the museum guard glaring at him as he walked further in. There was a stack of museum booklets underneath the sign, and Loopy took one as he passed by. Before going through the door, Loopy quickly glanced behind him. The guard was holding the coins right up to his eyes, presumably checking to see if they were fake.

Through the door was a long corridor with dark green walls and a very high ceiling. More doors were along this corridor. Loopy entered the first one he came to.

Loopy found himself in a room full of artwork. Many paintings hung from the walls, all of which were dating from several centuries before his time up to the present day. The sound of Mozart's _Eine kleine Nachtmusik_ could be heard through some speakers in the far corner of the room. As was expected in a museum, there were groups of people in the room, looking at the paintings and sculptures.

"Ah," Loopy breathed, "now _thees_ ees eenspiration!"

Loopy approached the nearest painting, which consisted of various splodges of paint, suggesting that the artist had made it by flicking paint at the canvas. Loopy frowned and tilted his head, unsure of what to think of this particular artwork. He quickly glanced in the booklet he had picked up, but there was nothing in it about this painting.

"Perhaps I should become an arteest?" Loopy wondered as he turned his attention back to the painting. "Zat way, I could make people happy weeth my artwork…"

"Hey, Barb!" came an old man's voice from somewhere behind him. "Is that wolf actually _looking_ at the paintings?"

"No, Clyde," came an old woman's voice. "Wolves don't have any taste in art. It's probably standing there and pretending to look so it can make itself look good. Honestly, Clyde!" she said with a sigh.

Loopy felt his heart sink a little. "Another thing about being an arteest ees zat nobody would need to know what I look like."

* * *

The next room Loopy entered was devoted to wildlife ranging from prehistoric times to the present. The prehistoric creatures and plants were there in fossilised form, with the fossils arranged neatly on display in the centre of the room. The modern wildlife was on display around the walls of the room, and consisted of stuffed animals in glass cases.

"I wonder what eenspiration I'll find een thees room," Loopy pondered.

He approached a fossilised dinosaur and gazed up at it. The dinosaur fossil had been carefully positioned to look like it was running, and its jaws were open, exposing the already-visible large teeth.

"I had better not eenspire to be like _zat_," Loopy said. "Zat would not make a good image for ze good wolf, no?"

As Loopy wandered about the room, he came across a display of a stuffed wolf positioned in a ferocious stance, with its teeth bearing and claws out. After staring at it for a moment, Loopy shook his head.

"Alas, thees ees the way wolves have always been remembered by: ze ferocious, snarling and uncharming-type way," he said with a disappointed sigh.

"Gee mister," came a young voice from behind him, "it must make you feel sad to see other animals like this."

Loopy turned his head to see a boy no older than ten standing behind him. "Oh, do not worry, leetle one," he said with a smile. "Eet ees something us animals have, as you say, come to terms weeth."

The boy took a step back, having now realised what particular animal he had spoken to. "Uh…e-e-except for you! You don't care anyway!" he spluttered quickly.

"Oh no, leetle one," Loopy said back in an attempt to calm the boy down. "Eet ees nothing like zat! I have feelings for others too, for I am Loopy De Loop, ze good wolf…"

Too late.

"Argh! Wolf!" came the all too familiar words. And with that, the boy ran off.

Once again, Loopy could feel eyes glaring at him, but now even more pairs than before.

* * *

As Loopy approached the door to the next room, he hoped it would be a case of 'third time lucky'. He stepped through to find himself in a room devoted to artefacts and relics from past civilisations. Most of the items on display were made of stone or cloth or wood, but there was one exception: in the centre of the room was a display case containing one of the most striking things he, or anyone, had ever seen. The case housed a chalice made of shining gold, studded with jewels of every colour. Surrounding it were small stacks of gold coins.

"Ooh-la, what ees thees?" Loopy asked himself. He approached the case to get a closer look at what it contained. The treasure inside looked even more spectacular closer up. Loopy quickly flicked through the booklet to find out about the treasure. Eventually he found a description about it.

"Ze _Treasure of Quetzalcoatl_," he read aloud. "These priceless artefacts were discovered een zee sixteenth century by Spanish conquistadors een Mexico," Loopy commented as he read the description from the booklet. He turned his attention back to the treasure. "Eet ees nice to see something as beautiful as thees treasure on display, but surely such a priceless treasure as thees weel attract zee burglars, yes?"

As if right on cue, an idea formed in Loopy's mind. "Zat's eet!" he exclaimed with glee. "I weel stay here overnight and watch over ze treasure! Eef anyone ees going to keep ze treasure safe, then eet ees Loopy De Loop, ze good wolf. Perhaps zee burglar weel even be eenspired by me to do ze good deeds, yes?"


	3. III

It was dark when the museum closed for the night. The lights were switched off, with the moonlight and street lights being the only things illuminating the darkened, empty rooms. An eerie silence had replaced the hustle and bustle of a few hours before. A different museum guard sat snoozing in a chair in the entrance room. Nobody else was in the museum…or so it seemed.

At the very back of the museum were a small kitchen and an even smaller storeroom. The storeroom door slowly opened and Loopy quietly stepped out.

"Thank goodness; I have been een the storeroom for hours!" Loopy said as he stretched and yawned. He felt his eyes trying to close, and he had to force them open.

"Hmm, now how to stay awake…" Loopy pondered. "Ze good wolf cannot fall asleep on ze job."

He caught sight of the door to a small kitchen not far from where he was standing, no doubt for whoever was on guard duty. Loopy strolled into the kitchen and looked in the cupboards. If anything was going to keep him awake at night, it had to be in the kitchen. He found what he was looking for: instant coffee mix.

Loopy took a cup from the draining board and poured some of the coffee mix into it. There was a kettle nearby, and it already had some water in it. Loopy switched the kettle on and stepped back to wait.

It was then when Loopy noticed a door at the back of the kitchen. The door was open slightly, and a cold breeze was coming through.

"Oh no! Eet appears ze back door ees unlocked! How uncareful. No worry, for thees ees a simple task for ze good wolf."

Loopy approached the door and closed it. There was a lock on the door, with the key still in it. Loopy turned the key, making the lock click shut.

"Voila! Zat ees already one good deed I have done tonight. Now zee burglar weel have a harder time breaking een, yes?"

Loopy took the key from the lock and inserted it underneath his hat. He heard the sound of the kettle boiling behind him. "Ah, and just een time."

Loopy poured some of the water into the cup and stirred the contents around with a spoon. Loopy then picked the cup up and downed the coffee in one go. He washed the cup and headed out, back through the museum to the treasure. He took a chair from the corner of the room and placed it next to the treasure. He sat on the chair and looked at the treasure before him.

"Now all I need to do ees make sure zee burglar doesn't try to take ze treasure; I weel guard eet weeth my life!" he said as his eyelids began to droop.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Loopy, someone had indeed broken into the museum – two someones, to be precise. In an Ancient Egyptian-themed room not too far from where Loopy and the treasure were, two sarcophagi slowly opened. Two men climbed out, being careful not to make too much noise. They were both wearing dark clothing and burglar masks. However, they were completely different heights and builds; one was very short and had a sharp-looking face, while the other was very tall and also quite fat. They were top burglar Big Boss Swindle and his partner-in-crime Tiny Lockpicker (respectively).

Tiny was the first to speak. "Duh, boss?" he had a slow-sounding voice.

"_Quiet_!" hissed Big Boss. He spoke with a nasal voice.

Tiny covered his mouth and looked around. No-one had heard. "Duh, boss?" Tiny repeated quietly.

"What?"

"Are ya sure this is a swell place to rob?"

"Ah, sure it's swell! There's some old treasure in the other room, an' it must be worth millions. Besides, have ya seen the security round here?"

Tiny thought for a moment. "Uh…no, boss?"

"Exactly!" Big Boss chuckled. "There ain't any! Except for the guy at the front desk, but he'll never notice anything. All he does is sleep on the job. They didn't even lock the back door."

"Is that how we got in, boss?"

"Ah, c'mon! You can't remember us sneakin' through the unlocked back door in the kitchen? It was only a couple o' hours ago!"

Tiny thought for a moment. "Uh…I remember the food. I thought we was robbin' a fancy restaurant 'til I saw the dinosaur bones."

"How would _you_ know what dinosaur bones are?" asked Big Boss.

Tiny smiled. "I read the notices. Ya know they've been skeletons for ages?"

"Since when could _you_ read?" Before Tiny could reply, Big Boss interrupted him. "Don't bother. We ain't got time. We gotta rob this joint before anyone notices."

"But boss, what if this museum's haunted?"

Big Boss rolled his eyes. "Ya say this every time we rob a joint. An' how many times do I hafta tell ya? There ain't no such thing as ghosts! Now are we gonna get the treasure or not?"

Tiny nodded and followed Big Boss as he tiptoed out the room and down the corridor.

"It's dark, boss."

"That's 'cause it's night time," grumbled Big Boss.

"Duh, well have we got a light?"

"Nah. I didn't bring none."

"Duh, why not?"

"'Cause people outside'll realise somethin's goin' on here. Have ya seen how many windows there are?"

"Lots?"

"Exactly." Big Boss stopped tiptoeing for a moment and pointed to a door. "The treasure is in _that_ room. Ya know, seein' as I'm feelin' generous tonight, I'm gonna let _you_ go in first."

"Aw gee, boss! Tanks!" exclaimed Tiny.

"Now shaddap before I change my mind," Big Boss hissed. He watched his assistant head to the door, hoping he wouldn't make too much noise with those heavy feet.

As Tiny poked his head around the door, he caught sight of the treasure sparkling in the moonlight that was shining through the window…and also a figure sitting next to it!

"Yipe!"

Tiny skedaddled back and hid behind the smaller frame of Big Boss.

"Boss! There's a-a-a-a ghost in there!" Tiny whimpered through shivering.

"Aw, c'mon! There ain't none!" Big Boss groaned.

"But boss, there's _someone_ there! Look!"

Big Boss looked around the doorway, and sure enough he saw Loopy sitting by the treasure. "What the…?"

Loopy was snoozing with his arms folded. It seemed the effects of the coffee hadn't lasted as long as Loopy had anticipated.

"Duh, I thought ya said there weren't no security, boss!" said Tiny.

"Nah, wait! Look." Big Boss pointed at Loopy. "That's a wolf; it can't be security. An' it looks like he's asleep."

"Then what's a wolf doin' here, boss?"

"It's obvious, ain't it? That wolf's gotten in here and is tryin' to beat us to stealin' the loot! Why else would a wolf be in a museum at night for?"

"Ya not gonna let that wolf nab the loot before we do, are ya, boss?"

"Whadda _you_ think?" Big Boss noticed a display of old guns, and he picked a revolver. "Come on, Tiny. We'll show that wolf not to mess with us before he even _gets_ the chance t' mess with us!"

"Huh-huh, yeah!"

"Quiet! We'll sneak in before the wolf notices anything! If he wakes, we'll deal with him."

"But that gun ya got ain't even loaded, boss."

"Yeah, but the wolf don't know that."

Big Boss motioned to Tiny to follow, and the two burglars crept into the room, slowly approaching the treasure. As they neared, Loopy awoke with a start.

"Ze treasure!" Loopy spun round, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the chalice and coins were still there. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, eet ees still safe. I must not fall asleep, or zee burglar may…" Loopy trailed off as he caught sight of two figures standing in the room with him, and one of them was holding a gun! Loopy gasped in shock. "…Zee burglar! And another burglar!" Loopy jumped up off the seat. "Thees ees even worse than I expected, but eet ees a good thing zat Loopy De Loop ees here to –"

"Stick 'em up!" Big Boss snarled. He aimed the gun at Loopy, making the wolf gulp. "So, ya think ya can rob this joint before _me_, huh?"

"An' me!" Tiny added.

"Quiet!" hissed Big Boss to his assistant.

Despite the threat to his life, Loopy didn't forget his manners. "I am not a thief, monsieur burglar," he said. "I am doing ze good deed of watching over ze treasure, otherwise zee burglars like you weel steal eet."

"Oh really? A wolf lookin' after treasure?" Big Boss asked sarcastically. "Yeah, and I'm Abe Lincoln."

"Duh, no you're not, boss," said Tiny.

Big Boss sighed. Of all the partners in crime he could have to assist him, he had to have the most annoying. He shoved Tiny in the stomach with his elbow. "Heh, my companion's sense o' humour…" he said with a fake chuckle.

"Oh, yes, ha ha!" Loopy giggled nervously.

"Well I don't think he's funny," said Bog Boss with a threatening tone, "and I didn't say ya could laugh." Loopy was quiet again. "Besides, I'm wanted in thirty states for this kinda thing, and I got a reputation to keep. Tiny, grab 'im!" the crook ordered.

"Sure, boss," Tiny replied. He reached over and grabbed Loopy by the scarf. Tiny held Loopy up in the air with one hand and made a fist with the other. "Should I give 'im the old one-two, eh boss? Huh-huh!"

"Nah, I got a better idea," said Big Boss. "Tie 'im up and leave 'im here. That way, everyone'll blame the wolf an' we'll get away scot-free."

Big Boss reached for a rope from a nearby display and tossed it over to Tiny. Tiny caught the rope and proceeded to tie Loopy up. However, Tiny had almost no idea of how to tie knots, and was doing quite a shoddy job of tying Loopy up. Loopy didn't seem to realise how easy it would be to escape.

As this happened, Big Boss approached the display with the treasure and lifted the glass casing that covered it. He opened a swag bag and swept the coins and chalice into it.

"Got it!" Big Boss announced. "Make sure ya got that rope tight."

"C'mon, boss!" Tiny moaned. "We got the treasure – can't we go _now_? I'm scared!"

Big Boss groaned. "Ya still goin' on about ghosts?"

"…Maybe…" Tiny whimpered.

"Perhaps eef I talk to zee burglars een a kind, good mannered and charming-type way, I can convince them not to steal ze treasure," Loopy mused as he was still being tied up. He turned his attention to the anxious Tiny. "There ees nothing to be scared of, monsieur burglar. Thees museum ees not haunted."

"Duh, you really mean it, wolf?"

"Of course. Zey don't call Loopy ze honest, kind and charming wolf for nothing…" Loopy said with a smile. The smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. "Een fact, zey don't call me zat at all."

"Aw gee…tanks."

"Quit talkin' with the wolf!" Big Boss ordered. He put the bag over his shoulder.

"Finished!" Tiny said. He stepped back to admire his handiwork. Loopy was lying straight out on the floor with the rope wrapped around him, leaving only his head and feet visible. "Sorry you're all _tied up_, huh huh!" Tiny chuckled to the wolf.

"Shaddap," muttered Big Boss wearily. If there was one thing he hated most of all, it was puns. "C'mon, we can go now. So long, wolf!"

"Eef I don't think of something, zee burglars weel get away weeth ze treasure," Loopy said to himself.

The two burglars dashed out the room.

"Stop een ze name of ze good deed!" Loopy yelled after them.

He wriggled across the floor and managed to get onto his feet by means of propping himself up against the wall. Loopy hopped forward as quickly as he could, and to his surprise, the rope began to unravel. Without stopping to comment on Tiny's inability to tie simple knots, Loopy ran in the direction of the burglars. Running in the dark wasn't a very pleasant thing, not only because there were two crooks making their escape, but also because it was hard to see where he was going or if he would run into something.

"I hope I am not too late. I would hate for ze treasure to be stolen…" Loopy panted.

As he ran, Loopy could hear the crooks' voices coming from the back of the museum. He headed in the direction of the voices, unsure of what to find.

The voices led him to the kitchen. The two burglars were standing outside, hurriedly stuffing the treasure back into the swag bag. Big Boss was grumbling about Tiny knocking him over, which had caused the treasure to fall out and scatter across the floor. Rather than jump out at them, Loopy hid himself around the corner and listened to their conversation.

"Supposin' that wolf'll follow us an' nab the loot for himself?" asked Tiny.

"Nah, we got 'im good! We beat 'im to the treasure fair an' square!"

"Supposin' the ghost'll show up?"

Big Boss groaned. "An' how many times do I hafta tell ya, Tiny? There ain't no such thing as ghosts! I don't get it; ya listen to the wolf when _he_ tells ya, but ya _still_ complainin' to me!"

"I thought he was jus' tryin' to be nice."

This made Big Boss roll his eyes (as well as made Loopy smile a little). "A nice wolf – yeah, right." He motioned to the kitchen door. "Besides, here's the way out. An' no sign of any ghosts, just like I told ya."

Loopy heard the sound of the kitchen door open, and now felt it was safe to peak around the corner. He watched as the two crooks dashed into the kitchen and closed the door behind them before daring to move out of the shadows.

"Zey won't be able to get out zat way, but zey weel go back to find me when zey realise eet ees locked," he said nervously, remembering he had the key to the door. "Also, zey still have ze treasure. How to get ze treasure back…"

His eyes cast over to the signs on the wall pointing to the various rooms, and a smile formed on his face.

"Ah, but of course! What better place to look than ze past achievements of man, yes?"


	4. IV

The two crooks were now greeted with the back door. Only the door stood in their way of freedom.

"Now open the door for me an' we'll leave," Big Boss ordered.

"Sure, boss," replied Tiny, who approached the door and tried to open it. The door didn't open. Tiny paused, unsure of what was happening. He tried to open the door again, but nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" Big Boss demanded.

"Duh, it's stuck, boss."

"You klutz! You musta closed it behind ya!" Big Boss hissed.

"I didn't!" wailed Tiny.

"Well open the door then! If it's only closed, just open it."

"I can't!" Tiny replied. He shook the door for a few seconds, trying desperately to open it. Tiny then noticed the lock. "Hey, boss, look! It ain't stuck; it's locked!"

"Huh?" Big Boss gasped at the sight of the lock. "It musta been that wolf who locked it. He's trapped us so he can steal the treasure from us!"

"We're locked in! What'll we do, boss?" Tiny asked frantically.

"There's no other way outta this place other than the main doors, an' we can't go that way or the guard'll see us. If we break the door down, someone could hear us. Your name's 'Lockpicker', right? Look for a crowbar or somethin' and get this door open!" Big Boss demanded.

"What are _you_ gonna do, boss?"

"I got unfinished business with that wolf," Big Boss replied in a sinister tone. "He's locked us in here, an' I'm gonna make sure he won't get the chance to even untie himself."

With that, Big Boss headed out the kitchen back into the museum, taking the loot with him.

"Wait, boss! Don't leave me here alone!" Tiny called as he ran after him. "This place is givin' me the creeps!"

* * *

Back in the room where the treasure was meant to be, Loopy had quickly put his plan into action. He was wearing an old jacket and shirt he had found in another room (because it was dark, he wasn't sure exactly what display he had took these items of clothing from) and was finishing tying one end of the rope that the burglars had used to a table leg, the items on the table having been carefully taken off by Loopy as to not damage them. Loopy stood up.

"Everything ees set."

No sooner had he said that, he heard footsteps coming in his direction. Loopy picked up the other end of the rope and dashed behind a curtain.

"Normally I would not scheme something like thees against my fellow man, but alas, eef Loopy ees to return ze treasure, then thees ees what I must do."

Big Boss and Tiny burst into the room.

"Say, where's the wolf?"

"Duh, I dunno, boss."

The realisation came to Big Boss. "He's escaped!" He turned to face Tiny and stood on the tips of his toes in an attempt to look him right in the eye. "You idiot! I shoulda known you can't tie knots!"

"Well you shoulda reminded me I can't!" Tiny retorted.

Loopy nodded to himself. "Now I shall, as they say, turn ze tables."

Loopy yanked the rope, making the table fall over. Big Boss and Tiny jumped with shock.

"What was that?"

They spun round to see the table lying on its side. Tiny prodded Big Boss's shoulder, causing the villain to jump again.

"Gargh! What're ya tryin' ta do, scare me t' death?"

"Boss, I'm scared," whimpered Tiny. "It's the ghost! It's mad at us!"

"And now for my big debut," Loopy whispered. He stepped out from behind the curtain.

"For the last time," Big Boss scolded, "there ain't no such thing as…as…"

He trailed off as he became aware of another presence in the room with them. The crooks looked ahead to see a wolf-shaped figure wearing an 18th century jacket and a woolly hat. The figure's arms were raised up in the air, and the figure was slowly approaching them. Had it been daytime, it would have been fairly obvious that the figure was really just Loopy in an unconvincing disguise (he hadn't even removed his hat or scarf), but good grief it looked convincing enough in the middle of the night. Big Boss and Tiny were frozen on the spot for a moment, before they yelled a single word in unison.

"GHOST!"

The burglars scrambled out of the room as fast as they could and ran down the corridor. They were not too quick to abandon the loot though, as Big Boss still had the swag bag with him. Loopy ran after the crooks with his arms still up in the air.

"Woooo, you weel pay for taking ze treasure!" Loopy called after them. His attempt at sounding like a ghost was dire to say the least, but the burglars were so caught up in the moment that they didn't realise who was actually chasing them.

"AAAIIIEEE!" the burglars screamed. The chase went through various rooms in the burglars' desperation to flee from the ghost that was following them.

"Of course, I am no ghost; I am Loopy De Loop, ze good wolf, and I do not eentend to scare them to death," Loopy explained to no-one in particular, making sure the burglars didn't hear. "I am only acting ze part of a ghost een order to get back ze treasure."

As if we didn't know already.

The crooks ran into the room where Loopy had got the disguise from. Loopy skidded to a halt by the door and watched them run around in the moonlight, trying to find somewhere to hide.

"And now for ze moment of truth," he said, hoping his plan would succeed.

Loopy grabbed a rope by the door with both paws. This rope was connected to a net that he had laid out on the floor. As the burglars ran across the net, Loopy pulled hard on the rope. The net was suddenly hoisted into the air, taking the crooks with it.

"WARGH!" the burglars cried out as they suddenly found themselves zooming upwards.

The sudden noise reached the ears of the sleeping museum guard, and he woke with a jump. The guard quickly headed in the direction of the commotion.

The net hung about ten feet in the air and swayed back and forth. As the two burglars floundered in the net, Big Boss let go of the swag bag. Loopy dashed under the net and caught the treasure before it hit the ground. The burglars' plan had been foiled.

"At last, I have saved ze treasure!" Loopy exclaimed with joy. "Thees ees surely ze good deed that weel make people see wolves can be good."

All of a sudden, the ceiling lights came on. Standing in the doorway was a mortified-looking security guard.

"Aw nuts!" moaned Tiny.

"Shaddap!" Big Boss yelled. "If ya hadn't scared me, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"_Me_? You was scared too!" Tiny argued.

Loopy stepped forward and proudly held the bag up in the air. "Ah, monsieur security-type person, there ees no need to worry. Zee burglars tried to steal ze treasure, but I have stopped them. And may I say zat there ees a lot of eenspiration here, yes?"

The guard, however, didn't seem to listen. "So," he yelled as he surveyed the scene, "some thieves decide to sneak in here at night and steal one of our exhibits!" Loopy opened his mouth to say something, but the guard continued. "And they get a wolf to assist them!"

All of a sudden, Loopy didn't feel proud anymore. "No, monsieur," he protested as politely as he could. "I am not a thief. I am Loopy De Loop, ze good wolf, and I was trying to stop zee burglars from stealing ze treasure!"

"Says the guy holding the bag," the guard retorted. "And not only that, you're also wearing John Hancock's favourite jacket."

The guard pointed over to where Loopy had got the disguise from. Now that the lights were on, he could clearly see where the suit had been displayed; the display consisted of several mannequins gathered around a table. A piece of paper was lying on the table, and one of the mannequins had been positioned so it appeared to be writing on the paper. It was this mannequin that was topless.

"For defacing such an important historical relic, _you'll_ also get charged with criminal damage! All three of you are going to jail!"

Loopy began to panic. He shoved the loot and key (which he still had under his hat) into the guard's arms. "Eh…well, eet was nice to meet you, monsieur, but I must be leaving; eet ees after closing time! Excuse me!"

Before the guard could do anything, Loopy ran off. His legs carried him through the corridors, through the main entrance and out the main doors. The doors were locked, but Loopy just crashed through them anyway, leaving a wolf-shaped hole behind him.

"I have heard of a wolf een sheep's clothing," Loopy commented as he tried to take the jacket and shirt off while he ran, "but thees ees taking eet too far!"

THE END


End file.
